Man Sues Wyoming Walmart in Contaminated Cantaloupe Death

A man who says his wife died after she ate a contaminated cantaloupe purchased at a Sheridan, Wyo., Walmart is suing the retailer.

The Sheridan Press reports Frederick M. Lollar filed the wrongful death lawsuit in Laramie County’s 1st Judicial District Court. He says he bought the cantaloupe around Sept. 1, 2011, ate about a quarter of it, and his wife, Jaqueline Lollar, ate the rest.

The Food and Drug Administration later identified the lot the Colorado cantaloupe came from to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Lollar’s lawsuit says Walmart removed the cantaloupes, but didn’t post public notice regarding potential customer exposure.

Jaqueline Lollar died at a hospital Sept. 19, 2011, and post-mortem blood tests confirmed the presence of the bacteria.

Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove declined to comment about the lawsuit.